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Obliteration of Benjamin - The Book of Judges · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And the children of Israel repented them
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  Speaker 1: for Benjamin their brother and said, This is one tribe
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  Speaker 1: cut off from Israel this day. Judges 21.6 Today, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: I realize that through the reading of Judges 20 and 21,
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  Speaker 1: I can now see that sometimes you allow battles and
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  Speaker 1: fights in my life to serve as realignment for my focus.
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  Speaker 1: and is re-centering for my devotion. With this truth, as
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  Speaker 1: I go into my battles, help me to realize that
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  Speaker 1: you are my strength. Help me to realize that you've
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  Speaker 1: always been my shield. And I ask that you forgive
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  Speaker 1: me for relying on anything else other than your power
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  Speaker 1: and your glory to bring me through the tough times.
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  Speaker 1: Like the children of Israel banded together as one, I
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  Speaker 1: thank you that you are assembling an army on my
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  Speaker 1: behalf to help right the wrongs of the enemy. I
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  Speaker 1: decree and declare that even though the battle may seem lost,
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  Speaker 1: I will double down, strengthen my resolve, and declare victory
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  Speaker 1: over my enemies until I see the manifestation of your
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  Speaker 1: promised ending. I stand in awe of your faithfulness towards me.
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  Speaker 1: because even in my worst, you still pursue me with
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  Speaker 1: outstretched arms and a glorious future for me. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time
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  Speaker 1: with God by listening to today's Bible story, brought to
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  Speaker 1: you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: OBLITERATION OF BENJAMIN In our last story, we learned about
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  Speaker 2: the downward spiral of Israel. Everybody did what was right
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  Speaker 2: in their own eyes, paying no attention to God's law
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  Speaker 2: or example. Some men from the tribe of Benjamin brutally
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  Speaker 2: raped the concubine of Levite. As a message to the
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  Speaker 2: people of Israel, the Levite tore his concubine into pieces
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  Speaker 2: and spread her limbs to all the twelve tribes of Israel.
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  Speaker 2: The message was received loud and clear. Now we see
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  Speaker 2: the rest of Israel take note. They rise up against
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  Speaker 2: the Benjamites and a civil war breaks the backbone of
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  Speaker 2: God's people, inspired by the book of Judges.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in
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  Speaker 3: the Dallas, Texas area, with today's episode of the Bible
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  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. In yesterday's episode, we heard the
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  Speaker 3: terrible story of Levite and his concubine, how his callous,
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  Speaker 3: sinful heart and careless ways led to the brutal rape
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  Speaker 3: and ultimate death of his concubine. Seeking to gather people
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  Speaker 3: across Israel to execute judgment on the perpetrators in Gibeah,
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  Speaker 3: the Levite sent her body parts out across the land
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  Speaker 3: to all 12 tribes. Today, we'll hear the story of
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  Speaker 3: how the people responded to his call for action. And
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  Speaker 3: we'll see how the retaliation against Benjamin led to a
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  Speaker 3: civil war in Israel, who will now war within itself,
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  Speaker 3: straying further and further away from God's plan for his people.
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  Speaker 3: There will be no winners in this war, just a
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  Speaker 3: broken nation that desperately needs salvation from their own sinful behavior.
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  Speaker 3: Let's listen now to today's reading.
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  Speaker 2: The limbs of the Levites' concubines swung in front of
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  Speaker 2: all twelve tribes. They looked both disgusted and terrified at
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  Speaker 2: the sight. The Levites' story of what happened that night
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  Speaker 2: spread like weeds. Every chief listened as they were told
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  Speaker 2: of the men of Benjamin raping and murdering the woman
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  Speaker 2: in place of the Levite man. Upon hearing the news,
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  Speaker 2: a strange resolve came upon each tribe. It was almost
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  Speaker 2: as if they were realizing just how far Israel had
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  Speaker 2: fallen from the will of God. All the people of
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  Speaker 2: Israel assembled together as one nation. Four hundred thousand able-bodied
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  Speaker 2: men with swords gathered at Mizpah to hear the Levite's
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  Speaker 2: story and seek the counsel of God. The tribe of
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  Speaker 2: Benjamin heard of their gathering, but decided to remain home.
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  Speaker 2: The leaders brought the Levite out in the open to
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  Speaker 2: share his story. There the Levite spoke of his travels
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  Speaker 2: and how the men of Benjamin sought to rape him.
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  Speaker 2: but instead brutalized his concubine and left her for dead.
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  Speaker 2: All the people spoke as one man, saying, Benjamin shall
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  Speaker 2: not go unpunished. We will take the men who have
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  Speaker 2: done this and go up against them. So the eleven
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  Speaker 2: tribes finally united as one nation to rise up against
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  Speaker 2: the tribe of Benjamin. Together they made provisions and prepared
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  Speaker 2: for war. They marched towards Gibeah and camped at its outskirts.
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  Speaker 2: The next day the tribe sent men into the city
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  Speaker 2: to speak with the leaders. They spoke together, saying, What
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  Speaker 2: has possessed you as a tribe? Give up the men
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  Speaker 2: who killed the woman so we can purge Israel of
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  Speaker 2: this evil. The Benjamites refused. Corruption had made its way
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  Speaker 2: into the innermost parts of their collective heart. They knew
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  Speaker 2: no sense of nobility, no mercy, no remorse. All they
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  Speaker 2: knew was that Israel wanted to take away the freedom
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  Speaker 2: for them to commit evil. The disdain of Cain seeped
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  Speaker 2: its way into their minds. They raised an army to
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  Speaker 2: fight against their brothers. 26,000 Benjamites drew their swords and
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  Speaker 2: stormed the valley of Gibeah. Among the men were 700
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  Speaker 2: mighty Gibeonite warriors. Their swings were fast and their aim
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  Speaker 2: was impeccable. They could sling a stone at a hare
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  Speaker 2: and aim true. The people of Israel rose from camp
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  Speaker 2: to Bethel. There they met with God as Abraham did
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  Speaker 2: years before them. With Benjamin approaching fast, the Israelites inquired
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  Speaker 2: of God, saying, Who shall lead the charge first against Benjamin?
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  Speaker 2: This was the first time Israel had reached out to
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  Speaker 2: the Lord in years. Their prayers were like rusted metal
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  Speaker 2: left alone for years to collect dust. Yet God heard
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  Speaker 2: their prayers like a sweet aroma.
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  Speaker 1: God did not.
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  Speaker 2: Delay in responding to them. Send Judah first, God commanded.
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  Speaker 2: So the tribe of Judah arose and descended towards the battlefield.
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  Speaker 2: Tribe clashed with tribe, brothers clashed with brothers, and the
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  Speaker 2: blood of Benjamin and Judah painted the grass below them.
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  Speaker 2: The Benjamites overpowered Judah and struck them down with a
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  Speaker 2: colossal force. Twenty-two thousand men fell that day, and the
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  Speaker 2: tribe of Benjamin puffed its chest in victory. Yet courage
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  Speaker 2: did not leave the people of Israel. They stood before
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  Speaker 2: God again, determined to reinstate him as their commander and king.
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  Speaker 2: They wept before God and asked if they should rise
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  Speaker 2: up again against Benjamin. Go up again, God said boldly.
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  Speaker 2: So again, they formed a battle line in the same field.
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  Speaker 2: The Benjamites raged towards them like a pack of wild wolves.
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  Speaker 2: Israel planted their feet firmly in the ground and raised
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  Speaker 2: their shields. Benjamin leapt towards them with swords and spears.
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  Speaker 1: Israel crumbled before them.
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  Speaker 2: Eighteen thousand men were torn limb from limb under the
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  Speaker 2: brutal claws of Benjamin. Again the people of Israel limped
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  Speaker 2: their way up the mountain towards Bethel. There they fell
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  Speaker 2: before God and sacrificed to him. They fasted, prayed, and wept.
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  Speaker 2: defeat had snapped them out of their apathetic days. On
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  Speaker 2: that mountain, the children of Israel communed with their Lord.
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  Speaker 2: A sweet intimacy could be felt among them as they
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  Speaker 2: raised their voices to their king. There they asked God again,
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  Speaker 2: Shall we go up against Benjamin? The Lord spoke again,
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  Speaker 2: this time promising them victory, saying, Go up against Benjamin,
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  Speaker 2: and I shall give them into your hand. The men
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  Speaker 2: of Israel sent thirty men to clear the roads surrounding Gibeah.
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  Speaker 2: There they slew the men who kept guard over the roads.
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  Speaker 2: Then they hid in waiting, ready to ambush Benjamin when
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  Speaker 2: they crossed to the valley. At the end of the road,
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  Speaker 2: ten thousand men waited for war. When the time came,
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  Speaker 2: the armies of Benjamin marched up towards Israel on the roads.
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  Speaker 2: There they were met with an Israelite onslaught. The battle
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  Speaker 2: was bloodier and more terrifying than any battle they had
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  Speaker 2: experienced before. Men tumbled in the dirt, strangling the life
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  Speaker 2: out of their kinsmen. Swords flew through the air like spears,
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  Speaker 2: and blood caked the dirt road. The Benjamites outnumbered the
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  Speaker 2: Israelites two to one, yet they could not fathom why
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  Speaker 2: they were losing. But the people of Israel knew. The
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  Speaker 2: commander of heaven and earth had gone before them. The
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  Speaker 2: God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. rose his fist against
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  Speaker 2: the tribe of Benjamin. The god that crushed the Egyptians
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  Speaker 2: and parted the seas had returned to bring justice and
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  Speaker 2: peace once again. The Israelite army gave some ground to
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  Speaker 2: Benjamin to lure them into a false confidence. While this
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  Speaker 2: was happening, the men waiting on the road rushed towards
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  Speaker 2: the city of Gibeah to burn it to the ground.
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  Speaker 2: Just as the Benjamites were gaining momentum, they turned to
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  Speaker 2: see their city up in flames. Their spirits broke, and
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  Speaker 2: they tucked their tails and ran into the wilderness. The
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  Speaker 2: tribe of Benjamin spread across the land, splitting up to
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  Speaker 2: escape Israel. Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell in the wilderness. Five
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  Speaker 2: thousand were slashed on the highways. Two thousand of them
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  Speaker 2: were captured and killed in the town of Guidam. A
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  Speaker 2: total of twenty-five thousand men bowed under the righteous sword
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  Speaker 2: of the Almighty God. All of Benjamin was utterly destroyed
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  Speaker 2: under sword and flame. There were no festivals of victory.
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  Speaker 2: There were no feasts or music celebrating the warriors. No,
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  Speaker 2: there was only sadness. A tribe of Israel had been
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  Speaker 2: obliterated for their wickedness. IN ACTUALITY, IT WAS A WICKEDNESS
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  Speaker 2: THEY THEMSELVES WERE NOT TOO FAR FROM COMMITTING. THE MEN
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  Speaker 2: AND WOMEN OF ISRAEL WENT BACK TO BETHEL AND SAT
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  Speaker 2: THERE UNTIL EVENING BEFORE GOD. THEY WEPT AND MOURNED THEIR
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  Speaker 2: FALLEN BROTHERS. WHY HAS THIS HAPPENED? THEY ASKED GOD. TODAY
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  Speaker 2: THERE IS A TRIBE MISSING IN ISRAEL. THE PEOPLE ROSE
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  Speaker 2: UP EARLY THAT NEXT MORNING TO OFFER SACRIFICES TO GOD.
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  Speaker 2: YET THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN WAS NOT TOTALLY LOST. There
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  Speaker 2: still remained a few survivors from the armies of Benjamin.
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  Speaker 2: God sought to restore them and bring the tribe back
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  Speaker 2: into the family of Israel. God spoke clearly, saying, There
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  Speaker 2: was one family of Israel that did not fight alongside you.
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  Speaker 2: The people of Jebesh Gilead abandoned Israel in their greatest
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  Speaker 2: hour of need. Go up against them and slay them.
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  Speaker 2: Then you shall give the virgin daughters of that family
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  Speaker 2: to the survivors of Benjamin. So Israel enacted vengeance on
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  Speaker 2: Jebesh Gilead for their betrayal and abandonment. Then 400 of
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  Speaker 2: the young women in that tribe were married to the
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  Speaker 2: young men of Benjamin. Together, the young men and women
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  Speaker 2: rebuilt Gilead and restored the tribe of Benjamin. They had
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  Speaker 2: returned to God when all hope seemed to be crumbling
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  Speaker 2: before them, and God saved them once again. Yet the
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  Speaker 2: story of disobedience and lawlessness does not end yet. The
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  Speaker 2: people of Israel lived without a king to rule them
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  Speaker 2: or a God to worship. They did what was right
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  Speaker 2: in their own eyes and walked the line between good
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  Speaker 2: and evil. Yet the Lord follows them, seeking to restore
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  Speaker 2: them to himself and protect them from danger. For God
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  Speaker 2: made a covenant with them, and although they broke their
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  Speaker 2: promises time and time again, the Lord would never fail.
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  Speaker 3: We begin today's reading as all the tribes of Israel
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  Speaker 3: are coming together in response to the message sent by
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  Speaker 3: the Levite, all except Benjamin. Even though they had strayed
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  Speaker 3: far from God, the sight of the dismembered woman's body
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  Speaker 3: part was too much for Israel to overlook. Something had
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  Speaker 3: to be done. Justice had to be accomplished. The Levite
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  Speaker 3: recounts to them the story of the horrors he was
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  Speaker 3: met with in Gibeah and how the men of the
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  Speaker 3: town brutalized his concubine and left her dead. Missing from
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  Speaker 3: his description is his own culpability and how he had
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  Speaker 3: sacrificed this woman for his own safety. The 11 tribes
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  Speaker 3: resolved that the men who did this must be brought
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  Speaker 3: to justice. But when they sent a delegation down to Gibeah,
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  Speaker 3: the Benjaminites refused to hand them over. Rather than gather
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  Speaker 3: up the guilty, they gathered up an army. This, of course,
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  Speaker 3: gets very ugly. And so the people of Israel approached
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  Speaker 3: God seeking his guidance. This was no small step. For
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  Speaker 3: so long they had cared very little for what God
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  Speaker 3: had to say, and this horrific act had turned them
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  Speaker 3: back to him, hopefully. God told them to fight against Benjamin.
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  Speaker 3: Judah was the first tribe to go up against them,
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  Speaker 3: and they suffered a crushing defeat. The army of Benjamin
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  Speaker 3: was strong and intent on winning. Evil, though it will
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  Speaker 3: never win in the end, will sometimes prevail momentarily. Israel
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  Speaker 3: was not deterred, and weeping, they went to God. He
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  Speaker 3: told them to strike again. This time another 18,000 of
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  Speaker 3: Israel's men fell to Benjamin. Now they not only wept,
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  Speaker 3: but fasted and prayed to God and offered offerings to
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  Speaker 3: the Lord. It was a closeness that God had not
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  Speaker 3: experienced with his children in many years. God responds in
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  Speaker 3: Judges 20, 28 with these words, Go up, for tomorrow
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  Speaker 3: I will give them into your hand. emboldened, they fought again,
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  Speaker 3: this time winning a fight that they should have lost.
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  Speaker 3: It was not in their own strength they returned. It
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  Speaker 3: was because of God's favor and protection and power. Now
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  Speaker 3: there are two very important lessons here. First, just because
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  Speaker 3: God says go does not guarantee victory. Twice he told
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  Speaker 3: them to fight and yet they lost. Was God breaking
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  Speaker 3: a promise, not making good on his word? Not at all.
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  Speaker 3: He never promised victory, He only told them to go
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  Speaker 3: and obey him. Secondly, when God does make a promise,
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  Speaker 3: he will always deliver in his own way and in
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  Speaker 3: his own time. Notice when God spoke to them a
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  Speaker 3: third time, he told them to go and they would win.
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  Speaker 3: And they did because God said so. The tribe of
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  Speaker 3: Benjamin was all but wiped out, but God still had
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  Speaker 3: a purpose for them, and he heard the cries of
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  Speaker 3: their remnant. The men of Benjamin needed wives to marry,
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  Speaker 3: so God delivered them to the town of Jabesh-Gilead, who
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  Speaker 3: had failed to join Israel in their pursuit of justice
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  Speaker 3: and fight against Benjamin. The men were slaughtered, and the
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  Speaker 3: daughters were given in marriage to Benjamin. At the end
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  Speaker 3: of the day, there are no real winners here. And
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  Speaker 3: though justice was served and Israel returned for a moment
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  Speaker 3: to God, their sinful and rebellious ways were far from over.
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  Speaker 3: The cycle would begin again. disobedience, discipline, disaster. But through
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  Speaker 3: it all, God remained watchful as a concerned parent waiting
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  Speaker 3: for the time to rescue his people. Dear God, thank
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  Speaker 3: you for your word and the promise of your enduring
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  Speaker 3: eternal faithfulness to Israel and to all your people. May
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  Speaker 3: God help us always to obey you and boldly follow
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  Speaker 3: you no matter what. Help us to trust in you
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  Speaker 3: at all times, no matter what happens. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham of Dallas, Texas, and you can download
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  Speaker 3: the Pray.com app and make prayer the priority of your life.
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  Speaker 3: It is our prayer that you would know Jesus Christ
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  Speaker 3: in a personal way. Jesus and knowing him is the
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  Speaker 3: key to understanding the Bible. Jesus is on every page
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  Speaker 3: in the pathway of Scripture. So I pray that you
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  Speaker 3: would know him and look to him for eternal life.
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  Speaker 3: As we see all of these stories, some of them
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  Speaker 3: very sordid, we realize just how desperately we all need
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